what to use nvidia 9600m gt or 9400m?

[youngmac]

hey everybody,
i have the macbook pro with this 2 gpus
i used to use only the 9600m gt for gaming as 9400m was handling everything, has better battery life and run cooler.
but i notice when i'm playing 1080p videos the 9600m gt perform better.

ok, 1080p youtube 9400m no problem at all.

1080p played on vlc 9400m laggy sometimes. but 9600m gt perform well.

1080p played on plex 9400m no problem at all.

that's why i think the new auto switching graphic cards on the new macbook pro is cool.
sometimes i'm on 9600m gt and decide to take the mac to the living area and forget that i was on the dedicated card while using on battery.

i still love my macbook pro, but that's one of the reason i wanted to upgrade to the new one but still not sure.

 

[spinnerlys]

Use gfxCardStatus to switch without logging off, it works on my 2009 MBP.

 

[youngmac]

Use gfxCardStatus to switch without logging off, it works on my 2009 MBP.

thx for the quick reply
i wasn't expecting a so simple answer lol
does it work well?

 

[spinnerlys]

thx for the quick reply
i wasn't expecting a so simple answer lol
does it work well?

It works for me with the 9400M and 9600GT, but honestly, I never had problems playing 1080p content via the 9400M, though I use Movist for the most of my videos, VLC is only there for secondary needs, if even at all.

 

[youngmac]

It works for me with the 9400M and 9600GT, but honestly, I never had problems playing 1080p content via the 9400M, though I use Movist for the most of my videos, VLC is only there for secondary needs, if even at all.

I have tried every video player for mac os x. i have a 5.1 surround sound (logitech x-530) connected to my macbook pro via a sound card, and VLC is the only one i can get a proper analogue 5.1 sound. otherwise i would've used others as they perform better than vlc.

how do you find movist?

 

[spinnerlys]

I have tried every video player for mac os x. i have a 5.1 surround sound (logitech x-530) connected to my macbook pro via a sound card, and VLC is the only one i can get a proper analogue 5.1 sound. otherwise i would've used others as they perform better than vlc.

how do you find movist?

Exceptional, but I only use stereo speakers, thus no experience with more channels.

 

[youngmac]

do you guys leave 9400m most of the times? or just for battery

 

[spinnerlys]

do you guys leave 9400m most of the times? or just for battery

I leave it at for most of the times, as I don't use GPU intensive applications anyway.

 

[youngmac]

Thank you spinnerlys.

just tried movist i like it, even works well with the apple remote.

i'm getting strange thing: when i play 1080p on the macbook pro screen even with 9400m no choppiness at all. but when i use a full hd external screen some scene are laggy.

 

[bobbytomorow]

I use my 9400m 90% of the time, the ONLY time I enable the 9600 is when I'm gaming, thats it.

And you shouldn't see ANY difference between the 2 when it comes to HD video playback, both gpu's are more than capable of accelerating HD video playback with ease and both gpu's are from the same gen and use the same drivers. if HD is lagging when the 9400 is enabled then there is something else wrong

 

[youngmac]

I use my 9400m 90% of the time, the ONLY time I enable the 9600 is when I'm gaming, thats it.

And you shouldn't see ANY difference between the 2 when it comes to HD video playback, both gpu's are more than capable of accelerating HD video playback with ease and both gpu's are from the same gen and use the same drivers. if HD is lagging when the 9400 is enabled then there is something else wrong

thanks.
i did further testing and i'm kind of confused. all HD 720p and 1080p play well on the macbook pro on 9400m but when i switch the movies to a full hd external screen, some scenes of the 1080p lag but not 720p. i tried different files and it's the same.

 

[CW Jones]

When I am at school... I am on the 9400 but basically any time I am at my house, or have it plugged in I run the other card. I use lots of graphic heavy applications and just don't feel like switching all the time. From what I have heard the 9400 is pretty go just by itself for everyday use.

 

[daneoni]

thanks.
i did further testing and i'm kind of confused. all HD 720p and 1080p play well on the macbook pro on 9400m but when i switch the movies to a full hd external screen, some scenes of the 1080p lag but not 720p. i tried different files and it's the same.

The 9400M will start to struggle when playing HD content AND powering a HD external display.

Either do a PRAM reset and/or switch to the 9600m (which would happen if you were using one of the new Core iX MBPs.)

 

[youngmac]

Thanks daneoni.
yeah i figured that now.

 

[ljx718]

Use gfxCardStatus to switch without logging off, it works on my 2009 MBP.

This. also, just for heat purposes, i would always used the 9400. never had a problem